I Have Somewhere I Need to Be
by MonsieurToast
Summary: Cheesy little romantic gestures like these were never Korra's forte, and everybody knew it. She always struggled to figure out what to do, what to buy, where to go... but this year, she had a plan. She just hoped she'd be able to pull it off without getting herself into to much trouble along the way. But who was she kidding? She was the Avatar. Trouble was her middle name.


**"I Have Somewhere I Need to Be"**

Cheesy little romantic gestures like these were never Korra's forte, and everybody knew it. She always struggled to figure out what to do, what to buy, where to go, and it certainly didn't help that her girlfriend was the CEO of a major corporation and richer than water was wet. From her perspective, it left her in a pretty precarious position on special occasions like these, like Valentine's Day – I mean, what could she get for the girl who had everything? There were a couple of times she almost just showed up with nothing and claimed that _she_ was the gift, but outside of a chuckle or two, she didn't really feel like that'd elicit the kind of response from her partner she was hoping for. Besides, she deserved more, in Korra's eyes – she _always_ deserved more. She just had no idea how to contribute to that "more" half of the time.

"Well? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to pick something?" The man behind the counter asked, catching Korra off guard. She'd zoned out again trying to pick out the flowers she'd be presenting to Asami as a show of affection and to beautify their bedroom for a couple of days, rubbing the back of her neck and apologizing, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a heavily folded piece of paper she'd been relying on all day, looking for what she'd written down earlier about flowers, languages and the Fire Nation.

Wanting to try and break from the mold somewhat and play to Asami's heritage, she wanted to pick a flower that symbolized love and passion and looked beautiful like a rose, but wasn't actually a rose, something related to the place her mother had immigrated from. Those thorns were annoying to deal with, anyway. What she came up with was the red camellia, a flower she'd failed to find in three other shops today. Maybe she wasn't being as clever as she thought she was, it seemed that everybody else was buying them up today, as well. However, it seemed that this shop was her lucky shop, as she'd _finally_ located the flower she'd been looking for, ordering a bouquet in turn.

Hopefully, Asami would appreciate some of the trouble she went through in trying to get her hands on these and not make a remark about how damn cheesy it was she was showing up with flowers on Valentine's Day. Of course, flowers weren't the _only_ thing on Korra's crumpled up little list of love, but with a bouquet in hand and six other earlier items and ideas checked off, she was fine with celebrating the little victories, doing a little victory dance in the shop as she paid for and received her order and excitedly checking the "buy flowers you moron" instruction off of her list. Finally, she was done. Holidays could be such a pain to prepare for, especially when you wait until the last possible second like Korra does.

Not that it was entirely her fault all the time, of course – for example, she'd almost missed hers and Asami's first Christmas dinner as a couple over on Air Temple Island because of an anarchist attack on the eastern borders of the United Republic she had to help deal with – but still, she could stand to be a bit more mindful of these things. Never mind the fact that this time, she had no excuse, she just forgot that Valentine's Day was a thing and that she and Asami were girlfriends now and that as a result, there was a certain degree of romantic gesturing expected from her on a holiday geared entirely toward romance. And selling vast quantities of flowers and chocolates. These shops must've been making a killing today, like seriously.

But, that was neither here nor there. With chocolates held under one arm and flowers in front of her with the other, Korra slipped the now completed list back into her pocket and headed for the door, the sun just beginning to set in the sky. It was almost time. Now that she'd fully prepared for the night's events, she had to hurry – she had a goddess to please and a place to be. She'd spent the better part of a day setting up something nice in one of the new city parks around a fountain, basing her idea off of something she'd read in a historical text she'd lifted from Jinora, (ab)using her status as the Avatar to secure the fountain for herself for a day, giving some excuse about spirits and Avatar stuff that worked well enough. Combined with what she'd set up in their bedroom back home too, tonight was shaping up to be something pretty special after all.

Lovey-dovey stuff like this may not have been her forte, but that didn't mean she didn't have some idea of what she was doing... and a lot more help from Bolin, Opal, Pema and Jinora than she'd have liked to admit, but, you know. Korra almost groaned at the thought, feeling as though she should've been better at this than she was what with it being a year and a half into her and Asami's relationship and all, but she was trying, and that's what was important. She'd already told Asami to meet her by the new city park after work, playing it off as if it were just another date, so now all she had to do was get down there and finish setting up before her girlfriend left the office. She just hoped that something wouldn't come up and waste her time so that she could finish getting ready and oh would you look at that something came up.

Almost as soon as she'd walked out the flower shop door, bouquet in hand, a stray blast of fire roared past her face, just narrowly missing the bundle of red camellia's she'd scoured nearly half the city for. "What the...!?" The girl stumbled back, a less-than-flattering look of surprise scorched across her face as she checked in horror the flowers for singes, burns and general existence, relieved to find that they were intact and undamaged. That just left the question as to what was going on, her question answering herself as a couple of Triad thugs loudly made their presence known, a local shop keeper yelping and running from them as they hurled fire blasts in his direction. Agni Kais... great.

Korra sighed, looking back into the shop she'd just left, the man behind the counter having now ducked behind it after seeing what was going on outside, calling the police from the phone behind his counter. She shook her head, glancing at the clock on his wall. "I've got time..." She thought aloud, placing the flowers down on the ground by the door and atop the box of chocolates, cracking her knuckles. Well, so long as the police were taking their sweet time, she supposed. She'd just have to be careful not to cause any wanton property damage while she took out the trash like she had when she first showed up in Republic City. That'd be bad. Thankfully, she'd learned her lesson and how to fight in a much more restrained manner since then. It was time to teach these punks a lesson they'd never forget.

"Hey, boys, didn't your moms ever tell you not to play with fire?" Korra asked with a smirk, walking out into the middle of the street, getting between the three Agni Kai members and the store owner they were currently terrorizing, who had since tripped while trying to run away and was now sitting on the ground, looking as though he were about to soil himself as he quickly began praising Korra, begging her for her help. Her mind was elsewhere, however, as she glanced briefly back over to the chocolates and flowers by the shop entrance. She had time.

"Crap, it's the Avatar!" The goon on the left called out, staggering backwards a bit in surprise. He certainly wasn't expecting to bump into _her_ while out and about collecting "insurance" from store owners in Agni Kai territory. He couldn't say he was all that keen on having a tussle with her anytime soon, either. He remembered what she did to Kuvira a year or so back – he wasn't _that_ crazy. His boss, on the other hand...

"Oh, grow a pair, would you? It's three against one, we can take her." The man in the middle replied, clearly overestimating the competence and ability of himself and his crew. What were a couple of low-ranking Triad enforcers going to do to the Avatar? Korra shook her head. This would be over quickly.

"Yeah, whatever you say – I'm outta here!" Make that very quickly. The left side goon clearly wasn't having any of this, a terrified expression on his face as he immediately turned tail and ran, his boss scoffing in annoyance while his associate to the right remained steady and loyal. Seemed it was two against one... still good odds, he reckoned. Or, they would be if he wasn't up against the freakin' Avatar. She'd do them a favor though and only use one element. If they thought they were good Firebenders, they had another thing coming.

"Well, at least one of you are smart." Korra smirked, slamming her fist into her hand in a show of confidence, as if her attitude didn't already show it enough. "Alright, boys, let's make this quick – I have somewhere I need to be." She described. Well, if she insisted.

The two of them immediately charged her, the goon from the right running in and sweeping low with a kick that sent a semicircle of flame across the ground at her feet while his boss leaped forward and above his lackey's attack, punching the air twice to send two blasts of fire at Korra as she hopped back and out of the way of the oncoming assault. She was almost impressed by their coordination, but she'd faced worse. Having gotten in close with his leap, the one in charge clenched his fists tighter, daggers of flame forming from his hands as he went in with reckless and uncoordinated jabs and swings. Please, as if that was going to stop her. She could take this guy without even bending; time to put those newly refined close quarters combat skills of hers to the test.

She deftly ducked and weaved through each attack, knocking his arms away a number of times and landing a few physical blows along the way, though he continued on relentlessly regardless, resisting her attacks and bending a few supplementary fire blasts from his fists in an attempt to catch her off guard. Unfortunately for him, they didn't, as she yet again ducked below them before grabbing hold of his left arm with a circular motion of her own, holding him in place, moving in and striking his chest with her palm with enough force to send him backwards and onto his back as she let go of him, stunning him momentarily, his lackey coming in for a second attack now to back up his boss.

Seemed he was attacking with another couple of Firebending kicks, these ones launched from both the ground and the air, all of them being wide, sweeping motions meant to limit her movements. So what, was one of them all hands and the other all feet? This was boring. She was just going to restrain them and leave them for the cops to pick up now. Pulling the oncoming waves of flame apart with her own Firebending abilities, she disposed of them harmlessly into spirals around her, leaping into the air as her opponent landed from his most recent series of jumping attacks as she delivered one of her own, a single, non-bending aerial back kick to his face all that was needed to knock him to the ground, unconscious.

"Heh. Chumps." She remarked while stroking her chin, somewhat proud of herself. Bending some nearby pieces of scrap metal around their wrists, she left them bound to a nearby light post as she heard the sound of sirens in the distance. Took them long enough. She wasn't about to stick around and help them with booking though – she had somewhere she needed to be. Nodding and accepting the shop keeper's thanks as he ran to shake her hand, Korra began walking back toward the flower shop, eager to pick up her flowers and...

"...You've got to be kidding me." She groaned, her gifts for her girlfriend having apparently been caught in the crossfire (literally), what was left of the flowers smoldering in a heap atop a puddle of melted plastic and liquid chocolate on the slightly singed ground. Great. "Okay, okay, you've still got time... you can do this... just replace them, yeah, the guy in the flower shop has to have more, right? Won't take long. Yeah." She reassured herself quite unassuredly. Even _she_ knew she was full of crap. I mean, she was lucky to have found _those_ flowers this late in the day – like hell she'd be able to replace them before 6 o'clock.

Korra let loose an annoyed sigh. This is what she got for not planning things in advance better and taking care of all of this _before_ she set up her surprise in the park. This is what she got for neglectfully forgetting Valentine's Day's approach, freaking out, and rushing to plan all of this in the course of a single afternoon. Again, she'd had more help from Bolin, Opal, Pema and Jinora than she'd have liked to admit. She wasn't sure she'd have been able to get done what she had if it wasn't for them – Jinora especially. Though she did feel a little guilty dragging her away from Kai for so long. She was lucky Tenzin's family thought of her as one of her own, otherwise...

Korra defeatedly walked back to the flower shop as she finished with appeasing the shop keeper she'd saved, walking back through the door as the police showed up to take the Agni Kai members into custody. She could deal with that mess later. She had more important things to tend to. "Sooo... you wouldn't happen to have anymore red camellias on you, would you?" She asked, flashing the man behind the counter a sheepish grin.

"Eesh, sorry kid, you bought the last of 'em. That sucks." He replied. Korra groaned, looking up at the ceiling in annoyance. Juuuust perfect.

"Great, now what am I supposed to give to my girlfriend? I really should've done all of this earlier..." She complained, cursing her lack of foresight and forgetful nature. She looked back up at the clock. 4:54. She still had time. "You wouldn't happen to know if anyone else around here has any, would you? Her family's from the Fire Nation, so I thought it'd be cute if I brought her those, but..." She trailed.

"You weren't the only one. I'd be surprised if you could find anybody else around here with _any_ flowers left, let alone those ones in particular. Sorry." Korra cursed beneath her breath. She was afraid of that. "But if it's any consolation, I _do_ have a couple of roses left. Not many, but hey, you can't beat the classics, right?" He asked, gesturing to what were probably the last three roses for several city blocks, a little worse for wear, but intact enough to be presentable. But come on, only three? Really? It was hardly a bouquet befitting the head of a giant megacorp. Korra narrowed her eyes, clearly unamused, but not about to walk out of here empty handed, either. Three thorny stems and a couple of pricked fingers it was.

Reaching into her pocket, she begrudgingly took out a couple more yuans, reaching for a few simple chocolate bars from across the counter to buy along with the roses, knowing full well that by this late in the day everybody around here would probably be out of extravagant heart-shaped boxes of assorted luxury chocolates, as well. She really hated helping people, sometimes. Feeling about as dumb as she felt she looked with three roses (carefully) clutched in one hand and two simple chocolate bars (albeit ones she knew Asami liked) in the other, she walked out of the flower shop a few minutes after she'd reentered much less victorious than she'd left it maybe 10 minutes earlier, looking somewhat dejected.

Well, at least she still had her surprise in the park to look forward to. In fact, perhaps this'd play to her advantage! She'd mislead Asami into thinking she was taking her on an ill-prepared date with some rushed gifts as to express her affection (which to be fair wasn't entirely untrue) and then sweep her off her feet with a dramatic unveiling of her uber romantic, sure-to-help-her-score-later-on fountain-based surprise. Yeah. She could go with that. Unfortunately, people seemed intent on taking up her time today, one of the cops currently processing the Agni Kai members she'd apprehended a few minutes earlier currently taking witness statements, predictably coming up to her to ask her for details on what happened.

"Excuse me, Avatar Korra, this man says you took these two down?" He asked. What, did he want her autograph or something? She wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with this anymore. She'd have thought the sad sight of three semi-wilted roses and two discount chocolate bars clutched in her hands would scream "I'm having kind of a bad Valentine's Day", but...

"Look, can we do this later? I have somewhere I need to be." She briefly explained, waving the officer away as she continued to walk down the street.

"No, not really, sorry." He persisted, refusing to stop following her until she helped him fill in the gaps in his report. She honestly didn't know what she would have to offer that the shop keep couldn't already tell him, but whatever. Sighing loudly, she came to a stop, turning around to answer his question as quickly and possible and get on her way. She had to get to that park as soon as possible and make sure everything was ready to go.

"Fine. I walked out of the flower shop, some bozo started Firebending, I saw three Agni Kais chasing down some shop keeper, so I put down my flowers and stepped in the middle of it. One of them ran off, the other two weren't quite as smart, we fought, they ruined my gifts for my girlfriend, I kicked one of them in the head, then I Metalbent them to a street light. The one that ran off headed East. He was bald and had a scar on his left cheek. There, can I go now? I've got some, uh... Avatar Stuff to take care of." She lied blatantly, clearly wanting to bring things to a close here. The officer may not have been buying the "Avatar Stuff" bit, but her story matched the shop keep's, at least. Not that he thought the Avatar was lying, but, you know. Procedure.

"Alright, thank you, ma'am. You can go–" Like she was going to waste any more time around here – she began running as fast as possible the second he said "Thank you", not keen on being caught up in anything else right now. Like she'd said. She had somewhere she needed to be. "–Now." The cop completed, scratching his the top of his head. Busy day, he guessed.

After having run a few blocks away, Korra came to a stop, catching her breath as she glanced behind her. Seemed she wasn't followed, be it by the police or anymore Triad creeps. Perfect. Now all she had to do was take a nice, peaceful, uninterrupted stroll down to the park and hope Asami wouldn't be too offended by Korra's meager offerings when she showed up and oh my god really? Right as she was about to start walking again, another predicament grabbed her attention, some loud yelling coming from a nearby residence as a man shoved a reluctant spirit out his front door. Really? Korra sighed.

Even after all this time, spirits were still struggling to adapt to the human world and vice versa, and the spirit population in Republic City had only increased after that new portal opened up Downtown. As a result, she ended up having to jump in and play peacekeeper from time to time, settling disputes between the two before they escalated and some poor human soul got their property cursed or overtaken by spirit vines, or temporarily got themselves possessed and disfigured, or something else 'mischievous' like that. She'd better step in before _this_ escalated into something worse, too. Grumbling something as she walked across the street, Korra approached two of them, asking what was going on.

"Oh, thank goodness, it's the Avatar!" The man in the doorway said, moving around to block the spirit about half his size trying to waltz back inside, both of them clearly annoyed. "Can you please do something about this spirit? I went down to grab something from my basement, and I found _this_ thing living under my house! He basically turned the whole place into a jungle down there! Do you know how many family heirlooms and personal belongings I have to dig out of vines now?" He asked, the spirit offended by the human's frustration.

"Oh please! I made that small dark dungeon you call a "basement" _much_ more lively! Do you even know how disgustingly moldy and dingy it was down there before? If anything, you should be thanking me for freshening that place up for you!" The mouse-like spirit retorted.

"You can't just show up and live in my house like that! Do you have any idea how much damage you've caused? You may have even upset my home's foundation! What if it collapses because of all those damn weeds?" Weeds? Well he'd never! The spirit hissed, trying to shove his way back through the door while Korra just looked on in confusion, trying to process the situation.

"Yeah, well, your daughter certainly didn't seem to mind my being there! In fact, she loves me! She calls me Mr. Whiskers and give me these... these... "cookie" things that taste really, really good. We've even have tea parties! Now _she_ knows how to treat a guest!" The spirit replied.

"YOU LEAVE MY DAUGHTER OUT OF THIS YOU–" Okay, yeah, it was time for the Avatar to step in and start mediating now, it looked like these two were about to start ripping at each other's throats. That certainly wouldn't go well for the man, never mind the rest of the neighborhood. Spirit-Human tensions could get pretty high sometimes as it was, another human getting cursed by a spirit unaccustomed to human society was the last thing _anybody_ needed right now. Korra sighed, reluctantly interrupting their confrontation as she glanced up at the ever-dimming sky. She still had time.

"Okay, okay, I get it, that's enough." Korra said, pulling the mouse-like spirit away from the man, whom she pushed a little further back inside his home, separating the two of them and literally getting right into the middle of things. "Look, uh... Mr. Whiskers?" Korra asked, unsure what to call the spirit. He gave her a look as if to say "Go on", apparently having grown accustomed to the name. Well, whatever. "I'm not entirely sure how this sort of thing works in the spirit world, but humans are kind of territorial... we don't really like it when people suddenly show up at our homes unannounced, especially people we don't know, and _especially_ if we have a family." She explained. "I'm assuming the basement wasn't really used that often and you've probably been there for a while, but still. Why would you even _want_ to live down there, anyway?" She asked. The spirit shrugged.

"I dunno, I was drawn in by the spiritual energy of the place. I knew there were a bunch of humans living upstairs but I figured, hey, _they_ aren't using this place, so why not crash here for a bit?" Well, they weren't using it to live in, at least. Storage, on the other hand...

"You have no right to just barge into my home like that! You spirits are just–" Korra interrupted the man before he could go any further.

"Sir, please, calm down." She requested, sighing. This was not how she wanted to spend her Valentine's Day. "Look, I have somewhere I need to be, so I'd like to make this as quick as possible. Can you two just set aside your differences for a minute so we can try and work something out?" She asked.

"What do you mean "work something out"? This spirit invaded my home! I want it out!" The homeowner demanded.

"I didn't invade your home, I invaded your box dungeon!" The spirit returned. Box dungeon? Well, that was one way to describe it...

"Daddy, why are you and Mr. Whiskers yelling at each other?" Came the small voice from behind the man, a young girl of about 6 or 7 confused as to what was going on, her interrupting seeming to just make the man even madder, his face turning red as Korra held him back from laying into the mouse-like spirit outside his door.

"HOW DARE YOU BRING MY KID INTO THIS." He repeated, Korra feeling as though she was about to explode. This was getting ridiculous.

"Okay, that's enough!" She shouted, a sudden gust of wind emanating from her body and pushing the man and the spirit currently trying to get past her away, knocking both of them onto their backsides. Seriously, this whole thing was ridiculous. Today was ridiculous. Her job was ridiculous. "Look, I get where you're coming from, but maybe it would be best if you just leave." Korra told to the spirit. "The fact of the matter is his family was here first and you kind of invaded their property without asking them. You can't really do that in the human world – you have to have somebody's permission before you start using their house. Yeah, his attitude isn't exactly pleasant, but I can get where he's coming from. I mean, how would you like it if somebody suddenly showed up and started living down there with you?" She asked.

"It would be kind of nice actually, it's lonely down there..." "Mr. Whiskers" replied, standing back up, a bit less angry looking than he was before. "I really don't see what the big deal is, you humans are so weird and finicky and possessive! Like geez, I just wanted to brighten the place up a bit and have somewhere to stay in the Physical World. Is that too much to ask?" The homeowner sighed, also rising back to his feet, looking back at his rather dejected little girl by the stairwell behind him.

"Does Mr. Whiskers have to go now...?" The girl tentatively asked. The man sighed. Really? That's how this was going to be?

"Okay, okay..." He stated with defeat. "Maybe I overreacted a little bit, but _you_ try heading downstairs to look for some of your grandfather's old things, only to find out that your basement has suddenly become the garden home to a giant mouse and said family heirlooms are now covered in moss." The spirit frowned. Well, when he put it like that...

"Sorry. I didn't realize my presence was causing so much trouble. Maybe I will just go then." The spirit replied. "I can get rid of all of the plant life before I do, if you'd like. That moss should come right off." He offered. The man smiled.

"Well, having my stuff back would be nice, but..." He looked back at his daughter. "I guess... you don't have to go if you don't want to. We don't really use the basement, anyway. If you can just promise not to grow a tree or anything through our stuff, and you promise not to bring any other spirits along without asking us... you can stay." He conceded, his daughter's face immediately lighting up as "Mr. Whiskers" smiled, his fur seeming to grow a bit lighter in color as to match his lighter mood.

"Deal." The spirit replied, the man stepping aside and willingly letting the spirit back into his home. He looked back at Korra, nodding in approval and thanking her for her help, though from her perspective their little argument seemed to have resolved itself more than anything. Well, whatever – she had somewhere she needed to be right now. She couldn't waste anymore time standing around here. The situation diffused, Korra shook the man's hand, wishing him and his family well before making her way back down the street, looking back up at the sky. It was getting dark, but she still had time.

As she passed another city block, Korra looked down at the roses still clutched in her left hand, having since put the candy bars into her right pocket for safekeeping. Now that she thought about it, if that spirit could grow plant life, maybe she should've asked it to grow a bouquet for her, or at least make these three look a bit nicer. She sighed, annoyed by her lack of forethought. Well, whatever. She still had a plan. She could still this. She could still sweep Asami off her feet. She just had to make it to – oh you have got to be kidding me.

The smell of smoke filled the air, the dimming daylight overpowered by an orange glow down a nearby street – a building had caught fire, and from the looks of it, it was about ready to come down. Republic City Fire Department Waterbenders were currently streaming vast quantities of water onto the build in an attempt to manage the flames to limited success, modified Satomobile trucks with sizable water tanks built onto their frames stationed across the street, a hose attached to a nearby fire hydrant consistently filling said tanks so that the benders always had something to work with. The look on Korra's face was one of amused disbelief and exasperation. Really? Now she had to deal with this?

"...Maybe I should just walk away. I'm sure the fire department has it under control." Korra told herself, though she neither believed what she was saying nor felt particularly right in saying it. She was both a Waterbender _and_ the Avatar, she should be helping out wherever and whenever she could, not being selfish about some silly holiday. But Asami...

Suddenly, an explosion from the front door and the city Waterbenders were forced to retreat, the fire raging more intensely than ever, threatening to burn down the whole street unless somebody intervened. Welp. "...I still have time..." She hoped, running toward the scene of the fire and approaching the Waterbender in charge to get a better idea of the situation. "What happened? Is there anybody still inside?" She asked, looking over at the burning building across the street, looking in the windows to see if she could see anybody trying to get out. It didn't _seem_ like there was anybody, but...

"We're not sure – we think there was an electrical fire and it just spread out of control. There's a family trapped in an apartment on the top floor, two of my guys went in to try and get them out, but they haven't come back yet. And after that explosion just now..." Of course there were. Korra sighed, handing the rose and candy bars to the captain, a bewildered look on his face. "...What are these for?" He asked.

"Don't burn them. Or melt them. I'll take care of this." She explained briefly and with some bitterness while the captain just stared at her in confusion. Clearly, she was still a little peeved over the loss of the bouquet and gourmet chocolates from earlier on, never mind all the yuans she wasted on both of them. Ugh. If her girlfriend wasn't rich she'd probably be a bit more frustrated, but still, she'd worked hard for that money, dammit! Never mind all the walking and looking around she had to do to and... you know what, forget about it, she had a burning building to take care of and people to save. She could worry about everything else later.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she decided she'd take care of this as quickly as possible, a familiar white glow overtaking her eyes when she reopened them. It seemed she was going to be calling on the Avatar State for help. Rather than recklessly rushing into a burning building unprotected, she was going to bend the fire out of existence, instead, moving her arms around to collect all of the water from the nearby fire engines that she could and then drawing more from the hydrant as she needed it, creating a powerful jet of water she used to drown out the flames as directed by one arm while she Airbent with her other, creating a vacuum which she was using to suck the air out of the building in an attempt to deprive the flames of their fuel source within and draw them towards herself, instead.

As the fire began to follow the path she was creating and weakened under the constant pressure of the jet of water she was directing, as the flames were about to take her arm, she immediately ceased both, switching to her Firebending alone as she began to command them with her Avatar State-enhanced bending abilities, collecting the fire into a single large orb in front of her, Metalbending open the top of one of the fire engines and dumping it into the water tank on its back, putting it out immediately as the building stood blackened and smoldering, but now completely free of fire. She then called upon her Firebending once more, drawing any remaining head out of the smoldering apartment complex with one hand and releasing it into the air above with the other, those previously trapped inside simply looking on in wonder as they suddenly weren't about to die anymore.

Coming out of the Avatar State and nearly doubling over out of exhaustion when she was done, Korra panted, trying to catch her breath. Combined with the fight from earlier and all the walking and running around she'd been doing today, she was beat. At this rate, even if her plans in the park went off without a hitch, she was going to be way too exhausted to enjoy her Valentine's Night... she really hated her job sometimes. As the gathered firefighters just stared in disbelief at what just happened, Korra tiredly walked back over to the captain, retrieving her gifts for her girlfriend from his hands. "Thanks." She said simply, walking back in the direction of the park.

She'd had enough, and somehow, looking up at the nearly nighttime sky, she got the feeling she didn't have anymore time. The sun had already set and the stars were starting to shine... all she could do now was hope Asami was running late with Future Industries stuff, otherwise Korra would be the one showing up late for their date. Again. This tended to happen a lot, come to think of it, she felt like a terrible girlfriend. She tried, but... there was always _something_. Or, in this case, several somethings, at least 4. Either way, the dejected Avatar began the 15 minute walk to the park, her head hung somewhat low, thankfully avoiding stumbling onto anymore emergencies along the way.

As she rounded the final corner, she saw exactly what she was afraid of – Asami standing there by the park entrance, alone, waiting, a light jacket the only thing to keep her warm as the nighttime air gradually grew colder. Korra grimaced a bit at the sight, walking up to the green-eyed girl and attempting to psyche herself back up for the rest of the night before Asami noticed she was there, reminding herself that she still had the fountain to surprise her with and everything else she'd set up back at their place, namely their bedroom. She may be able to salvage this yet.

"Hey, Asami, sorry I'm late! ...Again!" She called, grabbing the girl's attention and giving her a wave hello. Asami waved back in turn, a warm smile on her face.

"Don't worry about it, I just got here a few minutes ago myself. You wouldn't _believe_ the day I've had." Asami groaned, eliciting a sigh of relief from the young Avatar. Phew. At least she wasn't the only one showing up late to their date, at least. Not that the two of them weren't used to it by this point – both of them were pretty important people in Republic City and thus usually pretty busy, so more often than not, _one_ of them usually ended up showing late – but still. She wanted Valentine's Day to be different. Special. At least she could say she tried. Welcoming her girlfriend with a hug, Asami raised an eyebrow, sniffing Korra's hair. Was that...? "...Is that... smoke?" She asked.

"Let's just say you're not the only one who's had a pretty wild day, ahaha..." Korra replied sheepishly, closing her eyes and giving her girlfriend a nervous smile as she scratched her cheek. That was putting it lightly. Reaching into her pocket, Korra pulled out the chocolate bars she'd been carrying around for the past hour and presented her gifts to Asami, handing her the three worn roses and two semi-melted candy bars she'd picked up earlier. "Um... happy Valentine's Day?" She asked, giving her an even more nervous smile than the one before, Asami breaking out into a fit of laughter at the sight. Korra sunk. Welp. She tried.

Noticing her partner's reaction, Asami struggled to get a hold of herself, placing a hand on the young Avatar's shoulder and giving her another warm smile, the look in her eyes saying it all. "Thank you." She finally replied, giving the Water Tribe girl a simple blush-inducing kiss on the forehead, happily accepting the chocolate and the flowers. It certainly wasn't what she was expecting, but that didn't mean she didn't love it. As her laughter may have indicated, she thought it was hilarious. She could only imagine what could've happened to cause her to show up late with three flowers, some candy and smoke-scented hair. Knowing Korra, she probably went and involved herself in a slew of shenanigans around the city again, which was actually exactly what happened. That girl really couldn't help herself from helping people. It was one of the things Asami loved most about her.

"I originally had something a lot nicer than three beat-up roses and some Milkydays, but, uh... yeah." Korra explained, not really keen on getting into any specifics right now. She was exhausted. Asami shook her head, still smiling. This girl, she swore.

"Don't worry about it, I love it. It's the thought that counts, anyway, right?" She asked, handing one of the candy bars Korra had picked up back to her. "Here. We'll eat them together. Something tells me you've earned it, anyway." She teased, Korra grumbling something beneath her breath as she accepted her girlfriend's offer with a blush, the two of them making their way into the park together as they began to silently eat their candy bars. As hectic of a day as it may have been, what with all the last-minute planning and running around, Korra had to admit, this, right here, made all of it worth it. It wasn't much. Hell, right now, the two of them weren't even saying anything. But it was enough. Just being around Asami was enough. She already knew how that girl felt about her, just as she knew how Korra felt about her in turn, the two of them finding comfort and joy in that and each other's presences alone.

As the two of them made there way through the park, Korra made sure to lead her girlfriend down the path to the fountain in its center, hoping Asami wouldn't catch on as she attempted to distract her with idle chat asking about her day. Asami seemed to realize something was up, though, answering her question in the most teasing way she could think of before asking Korra the same thing, receiving the rather vague reply of "Oh, you know, Avatar stuff." Right. Well, it wasn't a total lie, this time. Still, the teasing nature of her response didn't escape Asami's attention, causing her to chuckle. Korra cursed herself mentally. She was onto her.

"So, what did you plan this year?" Asami finally asked, a knowing grin on her face. Korra sighed. She was way too easy to read. She'd tried to set up something extravagant last year, as well, with their first Valentine's Day together, but it didn't exactly work out. She kind of, uh... almost set fire to the Sato Estate... but that wouldn't happen this time! Especially since her biggest surprise was nowhere near said mansion. "Hmmmm?" Asami pressed.

"Shut up, you'll see it when you see it. Stupid genius prissy rich girl..." Korra replied, unable to wipe the red from her cheeks. Asami laughed. She was enjoying this. Well, they were just about there, anyway, said "stupid genius prissy rich girl" noticing that it was starting to grow unusually dark, the lanterns in this area apparently having been left unlit. Asami raised an eyebrow. What was Korra planning? "I can see you thinking. Stop thinking. Just... enjoy the show." The Avatar requested, finally arriving at the fountain in question, a number of extra lanterns having been set up on and around the watery centerpiece, all of them having been left unlit.

Asami again raised an eyebrow while Korra just smiled, leading her to one of the benches in front of the fountain and asking her to sit down. Curious, Asami complied, an excited look on her face as she finished the last of her candy bar and Korra cracked her knuckles. What _was_ she planning? "Alright, now close your eyes – and no peeking, got it?" Korra asked. Asami was _really_ curious now.

"Got it." She confirmed, tucking the empty candy wrapper into her jacket pocket and closing her eyes, smiling. Once she was sure Asami wasn't looking anymore, Korra got to work, making expert use of her Firebending to send out a number of small fire blasts from her fingers and light up all of the currently _un_lit lanterns, a warm, amber glow illuminating the area and reflecting off of the water in the most beautiful way. It was something she'd read about in one of Jinora's historical texts. Apparently, Lord Zuko had once wooed a girl from Ba Sing Se in the same way at one time. Pressed for time and having no better ideas, Korra decided to run with it herself, tossing in a twist or two of her own along the way...

"Alright, you can open them now." Korra said, Asami opening her eyes to find the once dark area now alight with the amber glow of dozens of lanterns, large and small, arranged into a heart shape around and atop the circular base of the fountain, the added light of the six tall light posts around the area illuminating it in such a way that the water itself almost seemed to be glowing.

"Korra... it's beautiful..." Asami replied, smiling widely. Korra smiled back in response, grabbing hold of the taller girl's hand and pulling her up from the bench, leading her over to the fountain's edge.

"That's not all. Look inside the fountain." Asami raised an eyebrow, doing as her girlfriend had suggested, peeking over the edge to see a message left at the bottom of the fountain written in reflective stones, glowing a bright, glimmering white in the lantern light. It was almost perfect. If only the message had been spelled out correctly.

"Happee Valintin's Day Asami..." She read out, noting that "Happy" looked as though it'd been spelled out by a 5-year-old while "Valentine's" was misspelled with an extra I and a missing E, the look on Korra's face immediately changing when she, too, looked over the edge of the fountain, her eye twitching as she buried her face in her hands, taking a deep breath. Calm yourself, Korra... just... calm down...

"This is what I get for asking Bolin to finish setting up while I went to buy you flowers..." She groaned, walking over to the bench and just sitting down, defeated, her face red for all of the wrong reasons. This was _not_ what she had in mind for her big romantic evening. Asami laughed, shaking her head and taking a seat next to Korra, grabbing hold of the girl's hand as she removed it from her face, smiling.

"Like I said before. It's the thought that counts." She said, giving her girlfriend a peck on the cheek. Korra sighed.

"I know, I know, I just... I wanted this to be special, you know? I mean, it's Valentine's Day. That's the whole point, right? Big romantic gestures, spending the day with the person you love, making her feel like the most special girl in the world..." She explained.

"Korra, you already do that every day." Asami affirmed. Korra looked back up. Really? "I get what you were going for, but you didn't need to do all of this to show me how much you love me, I already know. So don't get too worked up over it. You could've shown up an hour late with nothing in your hands and just walked silently with me through the park and I _still_ would've been the happiest girl alive." The engineer explained. Korra began to tear up a little, returning her girlfriend's smile. "That's more like it." She hummed victoriously.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, I figured, if there was ever a day to go all out..." Korra shrugged. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I completely forgot it was Valentine's Day until like noon anyway so I guess I kind of brought all of this on myself for rushing it in the first place." She laughed, Asami playfully striking the girl's shoulder with her fist. She figured as much. Korra never was one for grand romantic gestures like these, even if she did try on occasion. Honestly, she was surprised she threw together what she did, never mind in such a short amount of time. She really must have been trying pretty hard, huh? She had to admit, she was touched. Even if what she said was true – which it was – knowing that Korra was willing to go so far just to try and please her really warmed her heart. She really was the perfect girl, wasn't she?

"Besides..." Korra began, flashing the green-eyed girl a coy smile. "This pales in comparison to what I've got waiting for the two of us back home, anyway. _That_ I set up myself." She hinted, Asami's face immediately turning red.

"Oh spirits... what did you do?" She asked. Korra just giggled.

"You know the drill, Sato – you'll see it when you see it." Korra teased. Damn that girl and her surprises. Looking the taller girl in her eyes, Korra's face became much more relaxed, the two of them putting their foreheads together as they shared in the moment under the lantern light. In the end, for Korra as well as Asami, _this_ was what it was all about. Just the two of them. "I love you, you know." Korra said.

"I love you too, you dork." Asami replied. Tilting their heads ever so slightly, the two of them kissed, bringing each other in to a warm embrace as Korra finally felt the last of the day's stress melt away. All things considered, it'd turned out pretty great, last minute gift getting and all.

She was finally _exactly_ where she needed to be.


End file.
